Overview

Distribution: Africa, south of the Sahara desert, in open woodland and wooded grassland.

Height including horns: Male, 4.7-5.3m. Female, 3.94.5m.

Weight: Male, 800-1930kg. Female, 550-1180kg.

Habit: Loose groups.

Lifespan: 25 years in the wild.

Call: Usually silent, but can grunt and snort. Calves bleat in distress.

Food: Leaves from trees, shrubs, climbers, vines, and some herbs.

Nine subspecies of giraffe are recognised, all very similar but distinguished by coat pattern and geographical distribution.

Giraffes are sociable creatures, but do not form herds. Instead, they meet in groups each day, but the composition of a group changes from day to day. Males (bulls) in a given area establish a pecking order by neck-wrestling. If a strange bull wanders into the area, it will be challenged by a resident bull, and the two will bang their heads together until one of them retreats. The male's skull is extra strong for this purpose.